The Technology Gap

When dealing with the technology gap in schools it is tempting to teach to the lowest common denominator or to try to keep things fair. It is also common to expect the same things from all students. Students without access to technology then have to make an extra effort to go somepleace with a computer or rush to write a paper in a study hall or lunch period. Differentiated learning may say that students can complete their assignments and projects with different levels of technology. We also don't want to limit those who can achieve more by arbitrarily restricting them. Programs like bring your own device encourage students to use the means at their disposal. Arguments can be made that sometimes you're not supposed to use technology because you're learning the principle or learning something from the act of doing your own research. In such a case it would be understandable to say students aren't allowed to use a calculator or some device.

There is also a concern that differentiating instruction too much will make us lose focus from working to recieve funding to breach the technology gap. Applying for grants and putting a computer in every kids hand or somehow providing access certainly can be done as much as possible. Laptops grow old quickly and the technological advantage may not be worth the cost in some instances. Schools have an obligation to teach some amount of technology skills regardless of if students have access to computers at home. There will be some amount of students using school computers on free time or getting frustrated with a slow internet connection at home. The question is how much will we try to even the field and what will we expect from those who are able to do more and from those who aren't?